History will record the execution of Timothy McVeigh not as
a first for Terre Haute, but as a fourth.

McVeigh's final moments, however, will pass far unlike those
of the first three condemned prisoners, hanged for their crimes
in Terre Haute in 1844, 1861 and 1869.

These were all legal executions carried out by the citizens
of Terre Haute after public trials for murder. The wheels of justice,
however, flew the tracks when it came execution time. Two of the
death sentences played out more like horror movies.

The executions were, to put it plainly, botched.

The first man executed was Henry Dias, 44, on July 5, 1844.
Dias had killed a man north of Terre Haute by hitting him in the
head with an ax.

It was a time in American history when executions were public
spectacles, much the same as an important ball game today.

Thousands attended the hanging, arriving in the city from miles
around in wagons, buggies, on horseback and foot, according to
the city's biography in the book "Historically Speaking."

Civic leaders had picked Strawberry Hill, near Sixth and Seabury
streets, as the site. The area was apparently selected because
of its viewer-friendly terrain, Terre Haute historian Mike McCormick
said.

"Downhill from Osborne [Street] to Hulman on Sixth was
a natural amphitheater -- a place where people could view the
event," McCormick said. Strawberry Hill also stood next to
a picturesque area known as Hulman Park, McCormick said.

Sheriff William Ray assigned his deputy, Marvin Hickcox, to
prepare the noose and place it around Dias' neck, according to
the book account.

But when the trap sprung and Dias dropped, the noose slipped.

"Instead of dying instantly from a broken neck, he hanged
until he strangled to death, making it a particularly memorable
execution," according to the account.

Perhaps such foul-ups contributed to a change in sentiment
about public executions.

Louis Masur, author of "Rites of Execution," notes
a shift in the popular attitude toward public executions in the
United States in the mid-1800s. Laws enacted in the Northeast
and Midwest began to move executions behind walls.

In 1861, when Terre Haute hanged Lewis Bradford, its citizens
did so behind a fence, so the gallows could not be viewed from
the street. Bradford had murdered John L. Brooks by beating him
over the head with the limb from a sugar tree, McCormick has reported.

Sheriff William H. Stewart built the gallows on the north side
of the jail at Ohio Street.

"The 1874 atlas shows the jail was at Water and Ohio streets,"
near the Wabash River, Mc-Cormick said. Stewart selected the 12
witnesses. Two doctors, a minister, three reporters and an undertaker
also watched.

The executioners had better luck with Bradford's hanging. The
noose did not slip; Bradford dropped 3 feet and was pronounced
dead 23 minutes later.

The Terre Haute Weekly Express newspaper reported the city's
last legal execution on Dec. 24, 1869. Oliver Morgan was given
the death penalty for shooting John Petri to death inside Petri's
saloon, where Petri also lived, at 13th Street and Lafayette Avenue.
The prosecutor charged Morgan with murder.

No one saw the shooting and Morgan pleaded self-defense. Still,
Morgan received the death sentence for killing Petri, a prominent
man about town.

"Petri had a downtown saloon near Fourth and Walnut before
it burned, so he was well-known in the community, and his son
was a cop," McCormick said. "It probably had a lot to
do with the fact that his son was a cop that developed a lot of
emotions."

Mere months after the trial, workers erected the gallows at
Third and Walnut streets. The gallows consisted simply of four
upright beams with a framework at the top that suspended the noose.

"An enclosure surrounded the witnesses to shut out the
scene from the passers-by," the newspaper reported. But the
curious climbed atop nearby roofs to watch.

Stewart, still the sheriff, again prepared a guest list for
the hanging. The list of 26 citizens included 10 newspaper reporters,
which, if they wrote anything like the Express reporters, spared
little in treating their readers to the gory details.

And, there were plenty. The problem this time was not the
knot, but something even more elementary.

The rope was too long.

The Express described the scene: Morgan was escorted to the
scaffold, legs tied at the knees and black hood over his head.

For one last time, he maintained his innocence. "I killed
the man but it was in self-defense," he insisted.

The death warrant was read, and Morgan's black hood adjusted.

"Morgan, prepare for death!" Stewart said.

"The trap was sprung and the guests were treated to more
than they expected," the Express reported. Morgan dropped,
but his feet hit the ground.

"Several men on the scaffold grabbed the rope and pulled
the body from the ground while another man ran under the scaffold
and seized the body, whether to lift it up or to add weight to
pull it is not known," the Express reported.